Unlike the past several years, there was no consensus No. 1 overall pick coming into the 2012 Draft. The honor could have gone to any of a handful of players, but in the end, the Astros selected Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa.

The 17-year-old has the size (6-foot-4, 190 pounds) and athleticism that it will take to play shortstop at the highest level. He's got power potential with the bat, as well, which is why Houston made him the highest pick ever to come out of the Puerto Rican Baseball Academy.

"I feel so excited to be the No. 1 pick," Correa told MLB Network. "I'm proud to be here and I'm excited. This means a lot -- I have been working hard."

The Twins followed by taking toolsy high school outfielder Byron Buxton, who impressed last summer at a number of showcases. Then the Mariners selected Mike Zunino, a player who has the chance be a strong everyday catcher.

Stanford hurler Mark Appel, who was reportedly in the mix to be No. 1 overall, fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the No. 8 spot. Though signability could be an issue for the right-hander, that was also the case last year with Josh Bell, whom the Pirates drafted in the second round and gave a $5 million signing bonus. Teams, however, will be subject to spending caps for the first time this season.

The Padres selected left-hander Max Fried seventh overall out of Harvard-Westlake High School, and the Nationals took teammate Lucas Giolito at No. 16. The two pitchers are the first high-school teammates to go in the first round since Mike Moustakas and Matt Dominguez were both selected out of Chatsworth High School in 2007.

Gavin Cecchini, brother of Red Sox prospect Garin Cecchini, went to the Mets at pick No. 12. He is said to be even faster than his sibling, who has 19 steals in 50 games for the Class A Greenville Drive this year.

The highlight of the first round might have been when Courtney Hawkins, the White Sox's pick at No. 13, showed off his athleticism by completing a standing backflip. What did general manager Kenny Williams think about his draftee's impressive display?

"He said no more flips," Hawkins told MLB Network.

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Left-hander Brian Johnson of the University of Florida was taken by the Red Sox at No. 31, joining college teammate Zunino in the first round. Texas A&M also landed a pair of players in the opening round, as outfielder Tyler Naquin was taken by the Indians at No. 15 and right-handed pitcher Michael Wacha went to the Cardinals four picks later.

After Oklahoma saw prep hurlers Dylan Bundy and Archie Bradley go in the top seven picks last year, the state produced another first-rounder in righty Ty Hensley, whom the Yankees took with the 30th overall selection.

2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft picks at a glance:

First Round

Pick

Player

Team

School

1

Carlos Correa, SS

Houston Astros

Puerto Rico BB Academy

2

Byron Buxton, OF

Minnesota Twins

Appling County (Ga.) HS

3

Mike Zunino, C

Seattle Mariners

University of Florida

4

Kevin Gausman, RHP

Baltimore Orioles

Louisiana State

5

Kyle Zimmer, RHP

Kansas City Royals

University of San Francisco

6

Albert Almora, OF

Chicago Cubs

Mater Academy Charter School (Fla.)

7

Max Fried, LHP

San Diego Padres

Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) HS

8

Mark Appel, RHP

Pittsburgh Pirates

Stanford

9

Andrew Heaney, LHP

Miami Marlins

Oklahoma State

10

David Dahl, OF

Colorado Rockies

Oak Mountain (Ala.) HS

11

Addison Russell, SS

Oakland A's

Pace (Fla.) HS

12

Gavin Cecchini, SS

New York Mets

Barbe (La.) HS

13

Courtney Hawkins, OF

Chicago White Sox

Carroll (Texas) HS

14

Nick Travieso, RHP

Cincinnati Reds

Archbishop McCarthy (Fla.) HS

15

Tyler Naquin, OF

Cleveland Indians

Texas A&M

16

Lucas Giolito, RHP

Washington Nationals

Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) HS

17

D.J. Davis, OF

Toronto Blue Jays

Stone County (Miss.) HS

18

Corey Seager, SS

Los Angeles Dodgers

Stone County (N.C.) HS

19

Michael Wacha, RHP

St. Louis Cardinals

Texas A&M

20

Chris Stratton, RHP

San Francisco Giants

Mississippi State

21

Lucas Sims, RHP

Atlanta Braves

Brookwood (Ga.) HS

22

Marcus Stroman, RHP

Toronto Blue Jays

Duke

23

James Ramsey, OF

St. Louis Cardinals

Florida State

24

Deven Marrero, SS

Boston Red Sox

Arizona State

25

Richie Shaffer, 3B

Tampa Bay Rays

Clemson

26

Stryker Trahan, C

Arizona D-backs

Acadiana (La.) HS

27

Clint Coulter, C

Milwaukee Brewers

Union (Wash.) HS

28

Victor Roache, OF

Milwaukee Brewers

Georgia Southern

29

Lewis Brinson, OF

Texas Rangers

Coral Springs (Fla.) HS

30

Ty Hensley, RHP

New York Yankees

Edmond Santa Fe (Okla.) HS

31

Brian Johnson, LHP

Boston Red Sox

University of Florida

Compensation Round A

Pick

Player

Team

School

32

Jose Berrios, RHP

Minnesota Twins

Papa Juan XXIII HS (P.R.)

33

Zach Eflin, RHP

San Diego Padres

Hagerty (Fla.) HS

34

Daniel Robertson, SS

Oakland A's

Upland (Calif.) HS

35

Kevin Plawecki, C

New York Mets

Purdue

36

Stephen Piscotty, 3B

St. Louis Cardinals

Stanford

37

Pat Light, RHP

Boston Red Sox

Monmouth University

38

Mitch Haniger, OF

Milwaukee Brewers

Cal Poly

39

Joey Gallo, 3B

Texas Rangers

Bishop Gorman (Nev.) HS

40

Shane Watson, RHP

Philadelphia Phillies

Lakewood (Calif.) HS

41

Lance McCullers, RHP

Houston Astros

Jesuit (Fla.) HS

42

Luke Bard, RHP

Minnesota Twins

Georgia Tech

43

Pierce Johnson, RHP

Chicago Cubs

Missouri State

44

Travis Jankowski, OF

San Diego Padres

SUNY Stony Brook

45

Barrett Barnes, OF

Pittsburhg Pirates

Texas Tech

46

Eddie Butler, RHP

Colorado Rockies

Radfurd University

47

Matt Olson, 1B

Oakland A's

Parkview (Ga.) HS

48

Keon Barnum, 1B

Chicago White Sox

King (Fla.) HS

49

Jesse Winker, OF

Cincinnati Reds

Olympia (Fla.) HS

50

Matt Smoral, LHP

Toronto Blue Jays

Solon (Ohio) HS

51

Jesmuel Valentin, SS

Los Angeles Dodgers

Puerto Rico BB Academy

52

Patrick Wisdom, 3B

St. Louis Cardinals

St. Marys

53

Collin Wiles, RHP

Texas Rangers

Blue Valley West (Kan.) HS

54

Mitch Gueller, RHP

Philadelphia Phillies

W. F. West (Wash.) HS

55

Walker Weickel, RHP

San Diego Padres

Olympia (Fla.) HS

56

Paul Blackburn, RHP

Chicago Cubs

Heritage (Calif.) HS

57

Jeff Gelalich, OF

Cincinnati Reds

UCLA

58

Mitch Nay, 3B

Toronto Blue Jays

Hamilton (Ariz.) HS

59

Steve Bean, C

St. Louis Cardinals

Rockwall (Texas) HS

60

Tyler Gonzales, RHP

Toronto Blue Jays

James Madison (Texas) HS

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.